*[http://memory.loc.gov:8081/ammem/award99/cubhtml/theme2.html'''The Chinese in California: San Francisco's Chinatown'''] An introduction to San Francisco's Chinatown on the Library of Congress website

About the Author

Read a New York Times profile about Charles Portis, which describes his eluding of public life and his writing's characteristic deadpan humor: "Mr. Portis evokes an eccentric, absurd world with a completely straight face. As a result there are not a lot of laugh-out-loud moments or explosive set pieces here. Instead of shooting off fireworks the books shimmer with a continuous comic glow."